


Snowy

by Izzy58



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: But I thought I'd tag them anyway, Gen, Most of these characters are briefly mentioned, One sad boi, Original Undertale AU, X-tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23110288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzy58/pseuds/Izzy58
Summary: Cross is sad. That's pretty much it.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Snowy

**Author's Note:**

> If you can name the song Cross is listening to, you win. I also changed the name of this fic for, uh, reasons.

Cross tapped his fingers on his lap to an imaginary tune as he stared out over the edge of the cliff. Cold wind gently pushed against his back, making him subconsciously grip the edge of the cliff tighter, listening closely to the music in his head.

Ding bum do bum bum do-do-do do ding bum do bum bum do-do-do do...

He couldn’t remember where he heard this song. It sounded so familiar, yet he couldn’t place it. His eye sockets were pitch black as he stared off into the distance, silently watching the snowflakes drift by, his back stooped low and his hoodie pulled over his head.

...ding bum do bum bum do-do-do do do do do do ding bum do bum bum do-do-do do...

He watched the monsters of Snowdin as they bustled about, carrying on with their day to day lives. He honestly never knew so much color could exist in one place. The snow glistened and sparkled in the yellow light pouring through the windows of shops like glitter. Colorful signs welcomed monsters into stores and a bar, a library too.

Or a...librarby...to be exact.

A layer of snow covered the roof of each house and Christmas lights twinkled from where they had been strung up. In the center of it all, a Christmas tree stood tall. Gold, purple, blue, orange ornaments hung from its branches, top to bottom, and presents of all colors surrounded its bottom.

Chatter floated up to where Cross sat on the edge of a mountain high above them, looking down upon Snowdin and its endless forest mournfully. Some monsters walked in groups, others walked alone, a few walked hand-in-hand with another. Every single one of them had something to do or seemed happy with doing nothing at all. Everyone seemed content with their lives.

“Whatchya moping about, big guy?”

He let his shoulders sag in an apathetic shrug, not daring to let his gaze wander to the dark eyes of the ghost child floating beside him. He didn’t want to talk right now. He wanted to listen to the sound of the piano playing quietly in his head.

...ding bum do bum bum do-do-do do ding bum do do do do do-do! Do-do...

Chara sighed as he sat on the edge next to Cross. Uninterested in the scenery, he swept a small pile of snow off the edge, watching as it fell gracefully and landed amongst the trees below them. He glanced up and said, “Y’know, Nightmare’s going to be pissed when he finds out you’ve been slacking off on your job. He doesn’t seem to like it very much when people don’t listen to what he says.”

He emitted no response from Cross.

He pushed more snow off the edge. “We’re supposed to be destroying this AU, but you haven’t even laid a finger on it. What’s gotten into you? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

A heavy pressure crawled up Cross’ throat.

Chara jumped to his feet and snapped, “What are you even looking at?” His head whipped between Cross and the small town. “C’mon, get up! We’re not going to get anything done if you’re just sitting around! You’re such a slug bug!” He firmly pressed his hands into Cross’ shoulder and pushed against him, grunting and groaning, pushing against the dirt and snow with his feet. When nothing happened, he skittered to Cross’ other side and grabbed one of his arms which sat uselessly in his lap. He tugged and pulled with all his might, straining the skeleton’s wrist.

Cross still didn’t move. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge him.

...bum...bum...bum...ding! Bum do bum! Bum do-do-do do ding...

Huffing in defeat, Chara dropped Cross’ limp arm. “Alright, whatever. I don’t give a crap anyway.” He fell to the ground and landed on his butt behind Cross, running his transparent hand through the snow. “I’m just saying actually _doing_ something is going to help us a lot more instead of sulking like a child, you big baby.”

Without another word, he vanished in the blink of an eye. That didn’t bother Cross at all. Nothing registered in his brain and everything the child said flew right over his head.

He balled the snow beneath his fingers into his fist as he continued to stare at the Sans and Papyrus tied to the AU he was sitting in. They stood next to a long wooden bridge in front of the entrance to Snowdin, a bridge he remembered seeing so long ago, now nothing more than a foggy memory. If he tuned out the soft howl of the wind and the gentle rustling of the leaves, the creak of the forest behind him, he could briefly hear the cheerful laugh of Papyrus, the “NYEH HEH HEHs” leaving a bitter taste of nostalgia on his tongue. He tilted his head and furrowed his brows, fighting against the pressure building up on the bottom of his eye sockets. It didn’t help much that his sight was fixated on Sans, his bright blue jacket making him stand out, yet fit right in, always standing right next to Papyrus.

Right next to Papyrus.

Right next to...

...Papyrus.

He blew out a breath and fell backwards onto the snow, his arms flung out next to him and his legs dangling off the side of the cliff. His gaze bore into the darkness above as tiny snowflakes landed on his cold cheeks and stuck to the fluff on his jacket. He stuck his tongue out and caught a few. He closed his mouth. They tasted like nothing but droplets of water. He didn’t know what he expected snowflakes to taste like. Frosting? Sugar?

He sighed, watching his breath fog up in the frosty air before his eyes. His cloudy breath hovered above his head, then dispersed. He blew out another breath, observing the tiny cloud in the few seconds it existed before disappearing into nothingness.

FWOOMP!

A tiny piece of snow flung onto his cheek. His eye lights switched on and he ever so slightly turned his head towards the sound. A carefully sculpted ball of snow lay next to his head, its form slightly crumbled.

“Damnit!”

He twisted his neck a little further. A couple of yards off, the familiar face of Ink hid behind a boulder not much bigger than him. Surprise flashed across his face before quickly being replaced with a smile. “Cross!” he called, coming around the rock.

Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch!

Ink ran up to him excitedly, unintentionally kicking up snow, then bent over to peer at Cross, his grin growing by the second. “Cross!” he exclaimed again. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Cross smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

“I missed you!”

“I did too...”

Ink stood up straight again, glancing around at the area Cross sat in, hands on his hips. “This is a nice little spot ya got. Pretty view too.” He walked to the edge of the cliff, raising his hand above his eye sockets and squinting, grinning mischievously.

Cross’ eye lights followed him, frowning. “Did you just try to hit me with a snowball?”

Ink’s head whipped back to Cross. “Yeah! Why?”

His frown deepened. “That’s not very nice.”

“Well, neither is killing all of your friends and family and destroying your own AU, but we’re not talking about that, are we?”

Cross’ eye lights disappeared in a flash and his soul sank. _Ouch, Ink_.

Ink continued to blabber on, oblivious to Cross’ obvious sadness as he wandered farther away. “Funny how we found each other here of all places, isn’t it? What are you even doing all the way up here anyway? It looked like you were doing nothing at all to me. Are you bored? I noticed you like to lay on the floor when you’re feeling bored. Hey, do you want to make a snowman? I found this really cool clearing over there a ways! Want to help me build it?”

Cross blinked, his eye lights coming back to life, tilting his head to stare at an upside down Ink who had wandered beyond his peripheral. The artist pointed his finger in a direction Cross couldn’t tell from his position on the ground. What he could tell was the sheer and unadulterated joy radiating from his body, the artist practically vibrating with excitement.

“C’mon! You’re not supposed to be out here anyway!” Ink cried, getting impatient already and trotting over to where Cross still lay. He dramatically thrust out his hand with a cheesy grin. “Come with me, Cross. Let’s have some fun - like the good ol’ days!”

Cross smiled. He finally sat up, snow rolling off his shoulders and his back as he took Ink’s hand. Ink in turn yanked him to his feet.

“Let’s leave quick, or someone will see us! Didn’t I ever tell you that you’re not supposed to show yourself in other AUs!? Someone may see you all the way up here. Ooh, wait until you see this neat little spot I found. It has the prettiest view - OH! And we’re going to build a snowman! Did I tell you I was trying to build a snowman before I saw you? Do you want to build a snowman with me?”

Cross let himself be dragged along, their hands still locked together as Ink jumped from one topic to the next, leading him deeper and deeper into the forest as his high pitched voice filled the air. Somehow, just by listening to his voice and watching his eyes dart around, constantly changing shapes, it brought him comfort, even if he couldn’t even get one sentence in between Ink’s continuous prattle and simply had to nod and smile. The silence of the forest and the smell of pine cones surrounding them made it all the better.

Sometimes Cross forgot it’s good to have a friend, even if that friend did nothing more than be there with him. It made his life more livable.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
